Snare



' April 8, 1952 R. E. BURT SNARE 2 Sl-IEETS-SFEET 1 Filed June 20, 1950 Inventor Menard Bun? April 8, 1952 R. E. BURT SNARE Filed June 20, 9 0

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Inventor [chard E.

Patented Apr. 8, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SNARE Richard E. Burt, Dalton, N. Y.

Application June 2t), 1950, Serial No. 169,100

3 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in snares for trapping animals, and the principal object animals in an efficient, dependable and a humanemanner.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, in its durability, in its sensitiveness to actuation, and in its adaptablity to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects and features in view, and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention in use, showing an animal trapped thereby;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the invention per se in its sprung position;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the invention in its set position;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional View, taken substantially in the plane of the line 44 in Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the invention while swinging from its set to its sprung position.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the invention consists of a snare which is designated generally by the reference character and embodies in its construction a base l2 simply consisting of a plate or strap provided with an upturned flange I4 to which is anchored as at l6 a flexible securing element such as a chain or cable l8, whereby the entire snare may be attached to a support such as a tree, or the like.

The invention also contemplates the provision of a pair of complemental actuating members 28, 22 which consist of elongated wire frames terminating at their free end portions in pairs of eyes 24, 26 respectively. These eyes are rotatably mounted upon a transverse hinge pin 28, it being noted that the eyes 24 of the frame 28 are spaced closer together than the eyes 25 of the frame 22 whereby the eyes 26 are spaced outwardly from the eyes 24 on the pin 23, as is best shown in Figures 2 and 3.

By virtue of the eyes 24, 26 and the pin 28, the frames 20, 22 are hingedly connected together so that they may be swung from a superposed, set position shown in Figure 3 to an extended, sprung position shown in Figure 2, this being achieved by the resiliency of a spring 3!]. This spring has a pair of coaxial but spaced helical portions 32 which are positioned on'the pin 23 between the eyes 24, 25, while an intermediate portion 34 of the spring is substantially U-shaped and bears against the frame 29. The free end portions 35 of the spring, on the other hand, bear against the frame 22, thus urging the latter to swing in the direction of the arrow 38, that is, away from the frame 2F], as shown in Figure 5.

The frame 253 is formed with an invaginated portion 42, while an invaginated portion 62 is similarly formed on the frame 22. These two invaginated portions are in substantial register when the frame 22 is superposed on the frame 20, and a flexible snare element 44 which extends through the two invaginated portions has one end portion thereof secured to the base l2 as indicated at 45.

The remaining end portion of the snare element 42 assumes the form of an expansible and contractible loop 45 (see Figures 2 and 5) which is disposed entirely outside the frame 22.

Means are provided for sustaining the frames 20, 22 in their set position as shown in Figure 3, these means consisting of a latch 48 which is pivotally or hingedly mounted as at 50 on the eye 40 of the frame 20 and is provided with an angulated detent 52 to lockably engage the invaginated portion 42 of the frame 22. The latch 48 is also equipped with an integral trigger 54 which, when the frames 20, 22 are superposed as shown in Figure 3, projects upwardly through the frames.

However, when the invention is placed in use and the device is arranged as illustrated in Figure 3, an animal passing over the snare will step on the trigger 54, thus depressing the same and swinging the same downwardly about the hinge or pivot 50, and, in turn, disengaging the detent 52 from the invaginated portion 42 and permitting the frame 22 to swing in the direction of the arrow 38 under the influence of the spring 30.

When the device is in its set position, the loop 46 of the snare element 44 is preferably arranged so as to surround the trigger 54 as shown in Figure 3, so that when the locking latch is released by depression of the trigger, upward swinging movement of the frame 22 will automatically pass the loop 46 of the snare element 44 over a foot or leg of the animal, as illustrated in Figure 5. Moreover, continued swinging movement of the frame 22 to its sprung position will result in substantial tightening or contracting of the loop 46, thus firmly sustaining the same in position on the animals leg.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly apparent from the foregoing disclosure and, accordingly further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the claimed as new is:

1. In a snare, the combination of a base adapted to be secured to a support, upper and lower complemental actuating members comprising elongated wire frames hingedly connected together at one end thereof for swinging movement from a superposed set position to an extended sprung position, a pair of guiding eyes provided on the free end portions of said frames, a flexible snare element connected at one end thereof to said base and extending through said eyes, the remaining end portion of said element affording an expansible and contractible loop adapted to overlie said upper frame for movement therewith, a spring provided on the hinged connection of said frames for swinging the same to the sprung position, a latch pivoted to the free end portion of one frame and engaging the free end portion of the second frame whereby to lock said frames in the set position, and a depressible trigger provided on said latch and disposed Within said upper frame when the latter is in a set position for releasing the same, whereby said members may be sprung and said loop contracted thereby.

2. In a snare, the combination of a base adapted to be secured to a support, upper and lower complemental actuating members comprising elongated wire frames hingedly connected together at one end thereof for swinging movement from a superposed set position to an extended sprung position, a pair of guiding eyes provided on the free end portions of said frames,

invention, what is a flexible snare element connected at one end thereof to said base and extending through said eyes, the remaining end portion of said element affording an expansible and contractible loop adapted to overlie said upper frame for movement therewith, a spring provided on the hinged connection of said frames for swinging the same to the sprung position, a latch pivoted to the free end portion of one frame and engaging the free end portion of the second frame whereby to lock said frames in the set position, and a depressible trigger provided on said latch and disposed within said upper frame when the latter is in its set position for releasing the same, whereby said members may be sprung and said loop contracted thereby, said guiding eye on one of said frames including an invaginated coil, said latch being pivoted to said coil.

3. A snare comprising a base, first and second U-shaped frame members, means pivotally connecting the ends of the legs of said frames to each other for relative movement about an axis parallel to the plane of said frame and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis thereof, said first and second frames each having an invaginated portion formed in the web portion thereof, latch means pivotally mounted on the invaginated portion on said second frame and engageable with the invaginated portion on said first frame to retain said frames in their set position, a trigger operatively attached to said latch means and disposed between the legs of said frames when the latter are in their set position, a flexible snare element having one end thereof attached to said base, said element extending through said invaginated portions in said frames and; terminating in an expansible and contractible loop, said loop being adapted to overlie said frame when the latter is in its set position and:move therewith into its sprung position, said loop being contracted as said frame is moved into its sprung position.

RICHARD E. BURT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 817,601 Werd Apr. 10, 1906 2,178,256 Graybill Oct. 31, 1939 2,200,617 Clover May 14, 1940 

